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Pending Appeal: Court To Continue Proceedings In Yahaya Bello’s Alleged Money Laundering Case, Adjourns To Sept 25 For Arraignment

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Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Wednesday, adjourned proceedings on the alleged money laundering case instituted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission against a former Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, to September 25, saying proceedings would continue despite the appeal filed by the defendant.

 

Counsels to the immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, had told the court that they had filed an application for stay of proceedings on the case, pending the determination of the appeal pending before the Appeal Court on an arrest warrant earlier granted by the lower Court and other rulings.

 

When hearing resumed on the matter at the Federal High Court on Wednesday, Counsel to the Defendant, Abdulwahab Mohammed, SAN, argued that the Court could not proceed on the matter until the pending appeal was determined, citing authorities.

 

He also decried the treatment metted out to his colleague at the last hearing, saying the Prosecution misled the court.

 

“Your lordship is functus officio. Heavens will not fall if he awaits the court of appeal. We are relying on the provision of the Constitution which overrides the EFCC act which the prosecution is relying on,” the Defendant’s Counsel said.

 

However, Counsel for the EFCC, Kemi Pinhero, SAN, opposed this vehemently, saying the defendant had not shown any court of appeal document showing that the court wants the lower court to stay proceeding.

 

At that point, Justice Emeka Nwite asked whether, having received the application and affidavit, and being aware of the pending appeal, it would not amount to judicial rascality for his court to continue proceedings on the matter.

 

“Won’t it amount to judicial rascality to continue this case when there’s an issue of jurisdiction?” The judge further asked.

 

But the prosecution Counsel, Pinheiro, SAN, said “it is not really an issue of jurisdiction”, adding that in the face of Section 40, the mere filing of an affidavit could not suffice as the case was not a civil case.

 

He urged the court to stick to the matter of the day, which was the ruling on the arguments presented on June 27.

 

The Defendant’s Counsel, Wahab, SAN, however told the court that the Judge was misled on the 27th of June and that the request was for the proceedings of that day to be expunged.

 

“They are asking your lordship to undo the work of the Court of Appeal. To avoid controversy and in order not to render the appeal nugatory, this should not continue. Even if Yahaya Bello were to be here, you cannot arraign him,” he argued.

 

“The Affidavit filed on 16th July 2024, is to bring to your lordship’s attention the notices of appeal filed against your lordship’s ruling on 23rd April and 10th May. This appeal was transmitted to the Court of Appeal 23rd of May and appellant’s brief of argument was filed on the 31st of May. Motion for stay has also been filed at the Court of Appeal. The two appeals basically challenge the Jursidiction of this court to entertain the charges ab initio.

 

“We urge your lordship to expunge the record of the proceedings on 27th June because at that time an appeal had been entered and the proceedings should not have happened. The court was functus officio,” Wahab, SAN argued.

 

He said insisting on hearing the matter would bring his lordship into conflict with the Court of Appeal.

 

Pinheiro stated that one of the appeals sought to have His Lordship stay further proceedings until the determination of the appeal.

 

He, however, noted that the judge was bound by his own rulings and, therefore, had the discretion to determine whether to proceed or not, noting that the first authority that the Defendant’s Counsel cited was a 1999 case that predated the EFCC Act 2004.

 

“This same position was canvassed on behalf of Mustapha SAN in 2016 case, Mustapha v FRN, and the court held that proceedings can only be stayed where there is a court of appeal order to that effect and they relied on 306. In Chukwuma v IGP, a 2018 case, the court held something similar,” he said.

 

 

Wahab, responding on point of law, said, “We have two notices of appeal – one is on mixed law and fact and the other is on jurisdiction. The authorities he has cited are different from jurisdiction. Chukwuma v IGP is on admissibility of document and not jurisdiction.

 

“In chief Cletus ibeto v Frn, which is an ongoing criminal appeal, all the facts are on all fours with the recent case. The lower court stayed proceedings because of the issue of Jurisdiction and now the argument at the court of appeal is on 306. That is how it is supposed to be.”

 

In his ruling, Justice Nwite said, “The grant of Stay of Proceedings is at the court’s discretion. And since it is an issue of discretion no one can give an authority for the judge to rely on. The judge only needs to exercise this power judicially.”

 

The judge, who had asked before the recess that would it not amount to judicial rascality to continue the case when there was an issue of jurisdiction, changed his position and noted that the Defendant wanted to use the appeal to delay proceedings.

 

According to him, there have been previous Court of Appeal judgments on such matters.

 

He also granted the application for withdrawal of the Defendant’s Counsel, Adeola Adedipe, SAN, from the case and referred the matter of misconduct to the LPDC to conduct investigation on possible infractions.

 

Justice Nwite said, having stated the law, “the question is whether there was an undertaking by Wahab, SAN and Adedipe, SAN, which was breached to amount to contempt of court.”

 

Consequently, he adjourned the case to September 25 for arraignment.

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Court reschedules hearing in Ganduje bribery case

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The Kano State High Court in Kano, North-west Nigeria, on Thursday, fixed 15 April to hear objections to the charges pending against a former governor of the state, Abdullahi Ganduje, who is the current national chairperson of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The Cable reports that, in the case, the Kano State Government charged Mr Ganduje; his wife, Hafsat; son, Umar Abdullahi Umar; and five others, with eight counts of bribery, misappropriation, and diversion of public funds.

The rest of the defendants are Abubakar Bawuro, Jibrilla Muhammad, Lamash Properties Limited, Safari Textiles Limited, and Lasage General Enterprises Limited.

Based on defence lawyers’ request on Thursday, trial judge Amina Adamu-Aliyu rescheduled proceedings for the hearing of the notices of preliminary objection filed against the charges by the defendants.
Earlier at the proceedings on Thursday, the prosecution led by Adeola Adedipe, told the court that he was ready for the hearing of the defendants’ notices of preliminary objection.

Mr Ganduje’s lawyer, Lydia Oluwakemi-Oyewo, similarly expressed readiness for the hearing of the applications.

However, Adekunle Taiye-Falola, the counsel for the 3rd and 7th defendant, said he was not ready to move his preliminary objection.

He said he needed to first regularise his client’s processes filed out of time.

On the other hand, Sunusi Musa, the fifth defendant’s lawyer noted that he had also filed a motion on notice for extension of time since 7 January. He urged the court to grant the application.

The sixth defendant’s lawyer, Abubakar Ahmed, said he filed a notice of preliminary objection as far back as 9 September 2024, and was ready to proceed.

Also, the eighth defendant’s lawyer, Ibrahim Aliyu-Nasarawa, told the court he was not ready to move his application, adding that he intended to file and reply on points of law.

Following this scenario, the trial judge granted all the applications for extension of time and postponed the matter to 15 April for hearing of all pending preliminary objections.

The Kano State Government accused Mr Ganduje in the charges of collecting $210,000 bribe from “people and entities seeking or holding the execution of Kano State Government contract and or project for the remodelling of Kantin Kwari textile market as a bribe through one of the contractors (agent)”.

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Alleged N12 billion Fraud: EFCC demands Otudeko’s physical presence in court

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The counsel in the case of alleged fraud charge brought against the Chairman of Honeywell Group, Oba Otudeko, on Thursday, filed several preliminary objections to the suit before the Federal High Court in Lagos.

The preliminary objections from the accused were contested in court Thursday just as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) demanded Mr Oba Otudeko’s physical presence in court at the next hearing.

The applications included those challenging the court’s jurisdiction to entertain the case, those asking for stay of arraignment, and those seeking quashing of the charge.

The EFCC had preferred a 13-count charge against Mr Otudeko and a former Managing Director of First Bank Plc., Olabisi Onasanya.

Also charged is a former member of the board of Honeywell Group, Soji Akintayo, and a firm, Anchorage Leisure Ltd.

The N6.2 billion fraud charge is marked FHC/L/20C/2025 and before Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke.

The case was scheduled for arraignment on 20 January, but the defendants were absent on the grounds that the EFCC had not served them with the charge.

Their counsel had argued that they only got “wind” of the case on the pages of newspapers.

The court consequently directed service of the charge by substituted means, and adjourned the case.

On Thursday, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN) announced appearance for the EFCC and Wole Olanipekun (SAN) announced appearance for Mr Otudeko, while Olasupo Shashore (SAN) appeared for Mr Onasanya.

Kehinde Ogunwumiju (SAN) appeared for Akintayo, while Ade Adedeji (SAN) aanounced appearance for Anchorage Leisure Ltd.

Babajide Koku (SAN) announced appearance for the nominal complainant, First Bank of Nigeria.

Mr Olanipekun informed the court of an application he filed on behalf of Mr Otudeko and dated 28 January which he said was served on the EFCC on 29 January.

He also told the court that there was an affidavit dated 1st February which gave details of Mr Otudeko’s absence in court.

Other defence counsel briefly introduced their applications before the court.

In response, EFCC counsel told the court that he had complied with the court’s directive on substituted service of the charge on the first, third and fourth defendants and had attached a proof of service.

He also told the court that he received processes from Mr Olanipekun confirming that Mr Otudeko was not within the court’s jurisdiction.

Mr Oyedepo added that he received a “harvest of motions” from defence counsel in the suit, objecting to the suit.

He said it was important to know when the parties could return to the court for arraignment of the defendants since the first defendant was absent.

In response, Mr Olanipekun informed the court that he had served an application on the prosecution on behalf of Mr Otudeko, adding that the EFCC had seven days to reply.

He argued that a court had to, first, decide whether it had jurisdiction to entertain the case.

He urged the court to give a date for hearing of the defendants’ applications.

In response, Mr Oyedepo argued that the arraignment of the defendants ought to be taken first before any applications.

He cited the Court of Appeal’s decision in the case of Yahaya Bello as well as the provisions of Section 396(2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015.

He submitted that the court should adjourn the case for arraignment of the defendants.

In further response, Mr Olanipekun argued that it was important for the parties to refrain from “pulling cases by a strand of hair”.

Citing judicial authorities decided after the enactment of the ACJA, including Federal Republic of Nigeria (FRN) versus Idahosa and Shema Ibrahim versus FRN, he argued that the court dispensed with the appearance of the defendants in both cases.

On his part, counsel to the third defendant, Mr Ogunwumiju, also argued that it was important for the court to first take the objection by the defence in the interest of justice.

Citing the provisions of Edet versus State as well as Section 412(3) of the ACJA, he submitted that arraigning the defendants before hearing their objections would be prejudicial.

In the same vein, counsel to the second defendant, Mr Shashore, urged the court to hear the applications of defence.

According to him, the fourth defendant seeks an application staying arraignment, and another quashing the charge.

He argued that it would be unfair to insist that the court take the defendants’ pleas to a charge that might eventually be quashed.

He added that it was important for the court to first decide whether there was merit in doing same.

Counsel to the fourth defendant, Mr Adedeji, argued on the authority of Nwadike versus FRN that court processes must not be made to oppress citizens.

He argued that the case of Yahaya Bello as cited by the prosecution was not relevant to the suit, neither was the provisions of Section 396(3) of ACJA.

Mr Adedeji said the defendants ought not to face fraud trial for a civil transaction.

In reply, Mr Oyedepo said the cases cited by defence counsel were out of context and did not reflect the charge.

He urged the court to make an order directing Mr Otudeko to be present in court on the next adjourned date.

At this point, Mr Olanipekun informed the court that Mr Otudeko was under medical review and was advised to remain in the United Kingdom until a comprehensive review and medical advice.

He urged the court not to make such an order but to adjourn the case for hearing of the applications.

The judge adjourned the case until March 17 for ruling on the arguments.

(NAN)

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14 escape death in Third Mainland Bridge auto crash

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No fewer than 14 commuters escaped death in an accident that involved a commercial bus and a private car along the Third Mainland Bridge on Thursday.

We learnt from a statement by the Director of Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department of the Lagos StateTraffic Management Authority, Adebayo Taofiq, that the accident occurred at the Iyana-Oworonshoki area of the bridge when the commercial bus rammed into the private car.

Taofiq blamed the cause of the accident on excessive speeding by the commercial driver which led to a loss of control and the eventual collision.

He said, “The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority has again demonstrated its unwavering commitment to public safety by swiftly rescuing 14 accident victims following a devastating road crash at Ilaje, inward Iyana-Oworonshoki, along the Third Mainland Bridge.

“The incident involving a Mazda commercial bus (XN 997 KTU) was triggered by reckless speeding, resulting in the driver losing control and forcefully colliding with a moving Toyota Yaris (11150 DLA). The impact led to multiple casualties, necessitating an immediate emergency response.

“LASTMA officers, in collaboration with the Lagos State Ambulance Service, acted with commendable urgency, extricating 14 individuals, including the commercial bus driver, from the wreckage.”

He added that the victims who sustained some injuries were rescued at the Gbagada General Hospital by the Lagos ambulance team.

Reacting to the incident, the LASTMA General Manager, Olalekan Bakare-Oki, extended sympathies to the injured victims while stressing the need for speed limit compliance among drivers.

“Upon successful evacuation, the rescued victims were promptly handed over to LASAMBUS personnel, who swiftly transported them to Gbagada General Hospital for immediate medical attention.

“General Manager of LASTMA, Mr Olalekan Bakare-Oki, underscored the pressing need for both commercial and private motorists to comply with officially sanctioned speed limits to avert needless road fatalities.

“He extended his deepest sympathies to the injured and wished them a swift and complete recovery,” Taofiq concluded.

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